Little League seeks dismissal of 'whistleblower's' suit in Jackie Robinson West scandal

CHICAGO-Little League Baseball Inc. has asked a federal judge to throw out the lawsuit by the self-proclaimed whistleblower in the 2014 Jackie Robinson West league cheating scandal.

In documents filed Friday in federal court in Chicago, Little League disputes Chris Janes' claims he was the whistleblower that led to the Robinson league being stripped of its U.S. championship in the 2014 world series.

It also claims Janes failed to detail his emotional distress claim and federal court lacks jurisdiction because Little League is a "national citizen" by virtue of its federal charter.

Janes brought the suit under the diversity of citizenship statute claiming Little League is a New York corporation.

Janes is vice president of the Evergreen Park Athletic Association Little League in Chicago whose team was defeated by JRW on its way to the Little League World Series in South Williamsport.

Following a personal investigation Janes reported to Little League his allegation JRW had violated residency rules.

Little League says it undertook an extensive investigation but determined by mid-December 2014 the addresses provided by JRW for certain players were within that league's boundaries.

At the same time, it states in a court document, adjacent leagues alleged JRW had expanded its boundaries to make players eligible.

Little League found this to be true and on Feb. 11, 2015, announced sanctions that included vacating all the wins by the Jackie Robinson team including the U.S. championship victory, suspending the manager, placing the league on probation and removing the district administrator.

Janes filed suit Sept. 19 claiming Little League attempted to cover up JRW's cheating to harm him. He also contended he had suffered emotional distress, been subjected to death threats and been accused of racism.

In response, Little League claims it was Janes who went to the media with his allegations about JRW.

By him doing so, Little League said it was put in a position to publicly announce it had found no evidence of falsified residences as he alleged.

"Had Janes not announced his suspicions to the media, his name would never have been associated with the 2014 JRW team's ineligibility issues," Little League contends.

As for the emotional distress claim, Little League says Janes does not specify his suffering such as depression, anxiety, humiliation, loss of sleep and extremely fearful for his life.

It claims his suit does not provide any possible motivation for Little League to orchestrate a cover up to injure him nor does it state he claimed the boundary maps were falsified.

This is not the only active lawsuit arising from the JRW scandal.

In February, parents of 13 members of the 2103 JRW team sued Little League, ESPN sportscaster Stephen A. Smith and Janes in Cook County Circuit Court in Chicago.

They claim Little League had no right to challenge the eligibility of the JRW players after the world series so it was improper for it to vacate the U.S. title.

The suit also alleges JRW and Little League concealed the eligibility of players to reap the benefits of notoriety and media attention.

ESPN and Smith are accused of defamation by stating the parents had perpetrated a fraud.